Sola Gratia
The Reformation celebrated the rediscovery of God in His amazing grace. Eyes were taken off of self and directed to the suffering Savior who by grace alone freely grants salvation to unworthy sinners. Rome taught that man has free will and is able to—and must—cooperate with God in order to merit forgiveness and eternal life. As cooperating sinners labor to obtain as much grace as they can through the sacraments of the church, they would increasingly merit more grace, which enabled them to gain more merit. It was really a sophistry of works. At bottom, man contributed to his salvation; indeed, if he worked hard enough he could merit it! Christ’s merit was mingled with the supposed merit of the saints and was made available to sinners only through the church’s control. The church held the keys to the treasury of merit, like bankers; they distributed the treasury of merit through their channels of sacraments.
In this system, grace was largely conceived of as a sort of impersonal, metaphysical substance. The Reformation recovered the biblical concept of grace as personal, relational, and God’s free choice. The Reformation insisted that humanity was fallen and rendered incapable of performing any saving good. Salvation, then, begins and ends with God’s grace. God initiates and generously gives all that is needed to be reconciled, forgiven, and restored to God. Salvation was rediscovered as a gift from a loving God.
The Reformation transformed the church’s understanding of grace and the purpose of Christ’s ordinances. It also transformed the people’s view of Christ’s church and her roles and responsibilities. It recovered for us the gospel of grace, proclaiming that sinners are saved apart from works by grace alone.
Solas Overview Next: Solus Christus
(See also: Sola Gratia)
